While we had hoped to hear a recitation of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, it takes quite a while for nine people to get ready to do anything, so we were too late for the event. We did, however, take some time to walk around the Lincoln Memorial, pause at the commemorative stone for the "I Have a Dream" speech, and listen in on the tour guides telling stories about the March on Washington.
We then walked around some of the other nearby memorials before deciding that we were too cold to fully appreciate anything. Enter, a Starbucks. A coffee revival and we were off to the Kennedy Center to wait in line for free tickets to the "Let Freedom Ring" event. It's an annual concert put on by Georgetown University and the Kennedy Center to commemorate MLK Jr.'s work. We had to wait in the freezing cold outside for nearly two hours and by the time we received our tickets, the show was starting in half an hour so we went straight to our seats.
They also usually have a special guest entertainer at the concert and this year it was Patti LaBelle. She was AMAZING. She also looks amazing for being 66. You may know her from such classics as this one: but she also sang a great cover of "Over the Rainbow" that was probably my favorite of the night. She was also hilarious on stage, constantly switching shoes, checking her makeup in a handheld mirror, and posing for pictures (much to the chagrin of the Kennedy Center ushers who were running around yelling at people to stop taking pictures.)
There was also an award given to Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery for being a leader in the American Civil Rights movement and his speech, though short, was an effective reminder of what the civil rights movement was about, how far it has come, and what still has to be done. It was a fitting event for such an important (though often overlooked) holiday.
Tomorrow, work ... maybe. We're supposed to have freezing rain from now until 10am. Can this city function in these conditions?
0 made a huge mistake.:
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